


Unconventional

by oriolegirl



Category: The Avengers (2012), Torchwood
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-22
Updated: 2013-06-22
Packaged: 2017-12-15 18:14:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/852544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oriolegirl/pseuds/oriolegirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ianto Jones and Phil Coulson, in a pub.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unconventional

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place early in season 2 of Torchwood.
> 
> Thanks as always to [cyanne](http://cyanne.dreamwidth.org/) for the beta.

Ianto Jones was at the bar, waiting for the order he'd placed, when he heard an American voice next to him order a whiskey. Ianto turned his head, not terribly surprised to see Phil Coulson sitting there. Over the years that he'd known him, it wasn't the first time Phil had suddenly appeared in the same pub as Ianto. "Agent Coulson," he said formally.

"Mr. Jones," Phil returned, just as formally. "Nice to see you again."

"What is SHIELD doing in Cardiff? Is there something Torchwood should know about?"

Phil shook his head slightly. "We were dealing with a problem across the sea in Ireland. Since we were so close, we thought we'd make a slight detour on our way home."

"A detour?" Ianto asked, knowing there was more to the story than that. Phil wasn't one to make unnecessary detours.

Phil's mouth quirked. "Barton may have noticed that he could see Wales from his nest. Romanov made a convincing case for taking the ferry over."

Ianto was more than a little pleased at the prospect of a friendly visit with Phil and of seeing Clint and Natasha again. "Are - ?"

"Yes. They'll be here shortly."

The bartender placed a set of five glasses in front of Ianto. "I need to take this over, but I'll be right back." He pushed one of the pints towards Phil. "Keep an eye on that for me."

Phil smiled, the rare full-faced one which made his eyes crinkle, and Ianto couldn't help but smile back.

Ianto picked up the remaining glasses and made his way to the table the Torchwood group had commandeered. Distributing the drinks, Ianto said, "I ran into an old friend at the bar. We're going to catch up. Back in a bit."

Ianto could see Jack open his mouth, no doubt to ask questions which Ianto didn't want to answer. As he turned back towards the bar, he could hear Owen making some crack about Ianto not having friends, but Ianto didn't care. Because he did have friends, even if they were a bit unconventional.

Ianto and Phil spent a few minutes talking about current events before Phil paused, ever so briefly, and caught the bartender's attention. "A glass of vodka and a pint of Guinness, please."

Ianto looked around and saw Clint and Natasha claiming a table in the corner. They waved at him and he smiled. Phil collected their drinks and he and Ianto made their way over to join them.

Phil settled into one of the empty chairs but before Ianto could take the other, Jack came up next to him and dropped an arm around his shoulders. "Ianto, want to introduce me to your friends?"

Ianto must have flinched or something because suddenly Clint and Natasha were tensed as if ready for action. The image of Han Solo facing Greedo across the table at the Mos Eisley Cantina flashed through Ianto's mind. He only hoped this confrontation didn't end in a similar fashion.

Phil, though, just gave Jack an assessing glance. Eyes never leaving Jack, Phil said, "Barton, Romanov, stand down."

Jack grinned. He looked at Natasha and said something to her in Russian. She replied in the same language, giving a smile that clearly meant trouble. Jack then turned his attention to Clint. "Hawkeye," he purred, "so very nice to see you again." Clint didn't reply, taking a swallow of beer and never taking his eyes off of Jack.

Ianto had known that Clint and Natasha had run across Jack in the past, but he'd never found out when or under what circumstances. But clearly they didn't trust him.

Jack turned to Phil. "You, I don't know. Captain Jack Harkness," he said, holding out his hand.

Phil maintained his usual calm and merely nodded, keeping his hands on the table. "Agent Coulson, SHIELD."

Jack pulled his hand back. "I've heard about you, Agent Coulson."

"All of it true, I'm sure," Phil replied, causing Clint to snort. Ianto had heard rumors before he'd first met Phil; he was quite sure they'd grown in the years since then.

Jack eyed the trio at the table. "Phil Coulson, Hawkeye, and the Black Widow. That's some illustrious company you've been keeping, Ianto. Something I should know?"

"Not at all, Jack. As I said, they're old friends. We're merely catching up." Ianto was hardly going to tell Jack that, while at Torchwood One, he'd been feeding information to SHIELD because someone needed to be looking after the safety of the planet if Torchwood wasn't. And he definitely wasn't going to tell Jack that Clint and Natasha had given him a crash course in fieldwork before Ianto had convinced Jack to hire him. Ianto was fairly sure that Jack would understand what he'd done and, probably, approve, but these were things Jack didn't need to know.

Jack looked at Ianto and Ianto held his gaze. Finally Jack said, "Well, then, I'll leave you to it." He nodded at trio sitting at the table, "Agents."

After Jack had left, Clint kicked out the empty chair and Ianto dropped into it.

"Harkness? Really?" Clint asked. "I thought we discussed that."

"I wouldn't call what we had a discussion," Ianto replied. A couple of years before, while they'd been training him, Ianto had said something about Torchwood Three. Clint and Natasha had had a silent conversation before resuming their lessons. Later, during a break, Clint had handed Ianto a bottle of water, and said, "Harkness is a good guy, but he's got a fuck ton of issues and he can be a bastard when the situation calls for it and sometimes when it doesn't. Be careful."

Natasha shot a look at Clint over her glass, no doubt knowing that Clint's definition of discussion wasn't quite everyone else's. Turning her attention to Ianto, she asked, "Is he treating you well?"

Ianto snorted. "When he's around."

Clint's eyes narrowed. "Do we need to kick some ass?"

Phil rolled his eyes at that, then calmly asked, "Ianto, did something happen?"

"Jack left, no note, no warning, just took off. And I understand why he did it, but I'm possibly still a bit angry with him."

Phil nodded as if that was perfectly reasonable. "The Doctor?"

"Yes."

"But he came back," Phil said.

"Yes." Ianto sighed. "Yes, he did."

"Well, then," Phil said, "I think no ass kicking will be required."

Clint whined and Phil told him to stop while Natasha made what sounded like threats in Russian. Ianto grinned. They may be unconventional but they were his friends. And he was very glad of it.


End file.
